For Carlson family, golf is a 'labor of love'
Mar. 27—In the sense of operating one continuous establishment, it would not be accurate to say that Rod Carlson and his descendants have had a "family business. " One might more-than-reasonably say, however, that they have a family trade — and that is golf.
If you have played recreational, prep, club or college golf spanning various courses and clubs across the Inland Northwest in recent decades — and above all, in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley — the odds are quite high that you have crossed paths with at least one member of the Carlson dynasty. Rod, his nephew Paul McCarthy and his son Tyler Carlson, all of whom are longtime fixtures of the area golf scene, got together recently at Lewiston Golf and Country Club for a photo and a chat. "Golf has provided all three of us our careers," said Tyler Carlson, who is now head pro at Lewiston Golf and Country Club, where he works with his cousin McCarthy while his father teaches at Quail Ridge.
"That's pretty special that one game can allow three people to do what they love around the game that they love, and we've all kind of leaned on each other. " A family 'trade' that goes back decades Insofar as its connection with the valley is concerned, the Carlson saga dates back to the '90s, when former Whitworth golfer and PGA member Rod Carlson came to Lewiston Golf and Country Club as head pro, then brought in McCarthy to take his place while he explored a different career path for a few years. Advertisement The pair later purchased Clarkston's Quail Ridge Golf Club, which they would own and operate for more than 20 years from 2001-2022 before selling it.
In that same time frame, the third key player in this story was growing up immersed in the game, often golfing on the course his father and cousin maintained. Tyler Carlson's standout prep career culminated in a Washington Class 2A state title with the Clarkston Bantams in 2012 and led to a collegiate run at Oregon State. He would spend a few more years in Oregon working as a club golf pro before the pull of his home — and his wife's acceptance to Washington State's veterinary program — helped bring him back.
With his return came the opportunity to become the third member of his family to serve as head pro at LGCC, which he would not turn down. "I've never been a head pro at a private club, and so just wanted to take on a new challenge, and my wife and I just thought, 'This is the best opportunity for us,'" he said. Life on the course "A lot of it's what I expected," Tyler Carlson said of the head pro experience.
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